Category Archives: Inuit

Africa, America, Antarctic, Asia, Australia, Europe, Inuit, The New World

The Gift

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The Gift – Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies is the anthropological classic on economy, society and sociology by the french sociologist Marcel Mauss. The book investigates the gift as predecessor for modern societies economies by comparing habits from a range of traditional societies all over the world. Marcel Mauss describes how the people of Polynesia used gifts as a donation of authority and circulation of wealth and tributes. He compares the habits between eskimo tribes from North-East Siberia and West Alaska shows how gifts are the foundation for everything from marriage, war and peace and even religion in the form of sacrifices to the Gods. Marcel Mauss  concludes: “In any society it is in the nature of the gift in the end to being its own reward.”

From the book:

“I have never found a man so generous and hospitable that he would not receive a present, nor one so liberal with his money that he would dislike a reward if he could get one. Friends should rejoice each others’ hearts with gifts of weapons and raiment, that is clear from one’s own experience. That friendship lasts longest—if there is a chance of its being a success—in which friends both give and receive gifts. A man ought to be a friend to his friend and repay gift with gift. People should meet smiles with smiles and lies with treachery.”

Download The Gift here (136 pages/6MB):

 The Gift

America, Arctic, Europe, Inuit, Oceans, The New World, Thule

The Voyages of the Norsemen to America

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THE VOYAGES OF THE NORSEMEN TO AMERICA is an impressive historical presentation of the travels by the Vikings to America. The book was written by the dane William Hovgaard and published in English in 1914. His aim was to collect all the historical facts and evidences from various sources, and up to today Voyages of Norsemen is the authoritative compilation of historical descriptions of the travels of the Vikings to Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. The book is richly illustrated with maps and photos from expeditions to places where the Norsemen according to the sagas have been. William Hovgaard has many interesting points and for instance he draws similarities between popular folk games played by Norsemen in Iceland and Inuit games, and thereby supports written sources about Viking travels to remote parts of Greenland and Canada. The book goes into details of the following Viking voyages to America:

List of Viking voyages to America:

  • Bjarni’s Voyage (985 or 986)
  • Leif’s Return Voyage from Norway (1000)
  • Leif’s Voyage of Exploration to Vinland (1001)
  • Thorvald’s Voyage
  • Thorstein’s Voyage
  • Karlsefni’ s Expedition

Download the free PDF e-book here (408 pages/28MB):

 Voyages of Norsemen

Arctic, Greenland, Inuit, Oceans, Thule

The North West Passage by Roald Amundsen

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The North West Passage by Roald Amundsen is the well written and sometimes dramatic story about the “Gjöa Expedition”, led by Amundsen himself during the years 1903-1907.

This fine work was published after his successful return and it is richly illustrated with maps and high-quality photographs, considering the time. The expedition was sometimes quite dramatic, and only sheer luck separated survival from total catastrophe:

“In the pitch-dark night, which luckily was perfectly calm, a mighty flame, with thick suffocating smoke was leaping up from the engine-room skylight. A fire had broken out in the engine-room, right among the tanks holding 2,200 gallons of petroleum. We all knew what would happen if the tanks got heated: the “Gjöa” and everything on board would be blown to atoms like an exploded bomb. We all flew in frantic haste.”

The expedition was spectacular since it was the first time man navigated The North West Passage – the northern link between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. At the time, the passage was only partly open for short periods in the summer, making the voyage very difficult and the risk of getting stuck in ice was imminent.

Today, though, due to climate changes, the passage is increasingly open for commercial traffic and it has the potential to disrupt global sea transport.

The objective of the expedition was met, but the Norwegian Roald Amundsen was disappointed that he was not able to reach the magnetic north pole, which also was a goal of the journey.

Download The North West Passage PDF here in full length (349 pages/10MB):

The North West Passage

Arctic, Inuit, Pacific

Travel and Adventure in the Territory of Alaska

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Travel and Adventure in the Territory of Alaska by Frederick Whymper is the accounts of travels to the Arctic America, at that time known as Russian America, in the middle of the 1800′. The book was published in 1868 and contains great descriptions of meetings with inuits, dramatic stories of survival, meetings with trappers and colorful eyewitness account of the stunning arctic nature. When the book was published it received a lot of attention since Alaska had just been acquired by the United States Government from Russia.

The aquisition was ridiculed and mocked in public. The critics believed the price was too high for “waste lands and worn-out colonies”. Not much was known about the 400.000 square miles, besides what Bering and Tschirikoft had reported from their expeditions.

Download Travel and Adventure in the Territory of Alaska here in full length:

Travel and Adventure in the Territory of Alaska